For daily, down-to-earth discipleship

Why doing nothing is doing something

It’s something many of us think is a good thing… but don’t do as much as we should.

Even though it’s a command. Yup, God commands rest.

In Exodus 20: 8-9 God says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work…”

I’ll unpack the meaning and context more thoroughly on Sunday and how it applies to us today. But for now I’ll just stress that when God gave the commandments, he began by reminding his people that he had brought them “out of the land of slavery.” In contrast, this new way of life was to be one of faithfulness… and freedom.

So a part of the meaning of Sabbath rest is to remind us that we’re NOT slaves anymore.

However, when we never rest that’s exactly how we’re acting—like we’re still slaves. Maybe not to the Egyptian Pharaoh, but certainly to busyness and complication!

But when we make an effort to rest we…
• Renew ourselves in God
• Think more clearly
• Enjoy life more fully
• Find more peace

Friends, doing nothing is doing something.

So “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” If this isn’t a part of your routine, it might take some re-organizing of your life to make it happen—but it’s worth it. Renew yourself in God. Think more clearly. Enjoy life more fully. And find more peace. In our modern rush-around world, who can argue with that?